Insights & Information

Change in Middle School Ministry leadership

Photo of Chad Watson in the Awake Café coffee shop

Watson in Triad's Awake Cafe coffee shop.

Like the name of the ministry he’s led for four years, Chad Watson finds himself at a crossroads—why he resigned as Middle School Pastor effective March 30.

Interim leadership of The Crossing Middle School Ministry moves to longtime ministry volunteer and Sunday School teacher Keith Smith until a search committee is formed and a replacement is hired in a process that could take up to eight months.

“It’s difficult to leave something you enjoy, but I know it’s the right decision for me and necessary for what God has for me in the future,” Watson said. “I feel God has put church planting on my heart, and I’ll be looking for different ways to pursue that opportunity.

“I’ve grown tremendously at Triad. I’ve made lots of mistakes but learned a whole lot under Pastor Rob (Decker) and ‘Mr. Tim’ (Gerber) that I will take with me in the next phase of my life and ministry.”

The church honored Watson with a going-away reception in the Activity Center after the March 26 service which followed a ‘thank you’ party Middle School Ministry parents and students held for him on March 23.

A graduate of Piedmont Baptist College, now known as Piedmont International University, Watson rose through the ranks at Triad from intern, to youth ministry assistant and then Triad’s first Middle School Student Pastor in March 2010 when the church separated the high school and middle school ministries.

Both Watson and High School Student Pastor Jared Hoots serve under Dennis Roberts, executive administrator for church and academy operations.

“The church making the move to build a Middle School Ministry was a very important step and something that has strengthened the church’s ability to minister to youth,” Watson said. “It’s been said that the middle school years are the second biggest time of change in a person’s life, and it’s very difficult to minister to a sixth- and 12th-grader at the same time. Their experiences and life stages are so different, and the way you have to teach both are so different.

“It was very forward-thinking on Triad’s part to separate the groups, and also give us our own worship times (Sunday evening for The Crossing and Wednesday evening for the Radiate high school student ministry),” Watson said.

Decker said he considered the middle school ministry’s launch, branding as The Crossing, and growth as important ministry milestones for Triad.

“Chad moved our middle school program from its infancy to the level it is today,” Decker said. “He met challenges, and developed a program we’re proud of today.”

Gerber said that he appreciated Watson’s focus on connecting with middle schoolers on a personal level.

“We appreciate the impact Pastor Chad had on our daughter Maddie in her time in the Middle School Ministry,” Gerber said. “The first thing we noticed was the time he took to get to know each of them on a personal basis. He showed he cared right from the beginning.“

Along with the ministry’s launch, Watson said that he considers helping develop the church’s current logo, the Youth Room, the Awake Café coffee shop, and the audiovisual system for the new Worship Center/Gym key highlights of his four-year tenure.

“I've been praying about this for awhile and wanted to make sure I was making the right decision,” Watson said of his decision to leave Triad and take a year-long sabbatical from the ministry. “It’s difficult to leave something you enjoy, but I know it’s the right decision for me and necessary for what God has for me in the future.”

“Through my own personal spiritual growth at Triad, and from reading different books, I’ve learned what a healthy church is and how important family is, especially in a middle schooler’s life. If they don't have that family support in their spiritual growth, it’s very difficult for them to pursue Christ in their own life. That is probably the biggest thing I've learned from working with this age group.”

Next steps

Decker said that Triad will begin to advertise the Middle School Ministry position April 1. He said a search committee will be formed soon that will include selected parents and Hoots.

“The team will narrow down resumes to three, and then we as the staff will pick one of the three and bring them to the Executive Leadership Team and deacons, and then put them before the parents for a vote before bringing someone to the full congregation for final approval,” he said.

Smith, the interim head of The Crossing, has a long ministry resume of his own. Since joining Triad in 2006, his experience includes service as a Middle School Ministry small group leader and leader for its game time as well as a sixth- to eighth-grade and ninth- and 10th-grade Sunday School teacher.

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